Good morning,Recently an owner asked me what I require of my black belt candidates when it comes to physical fitness. Here is a bench mark workout that is clear and easy to understand for your students. Let’s call it The “300”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt6149FlvC4100 push-ups100 sit-ups100 air squatsYou can either have your students start or finish with a mile run.Students must complete 100 of each exercise before moving on to the next. So for example, a student must complete all 100 push- ups before moving on to the sit-ups. I like hand release push-ups best because it ensures that the student come all the way down; no head bobbers or half push-ups. The sit-ups demonstrated are the same as they use in CrossFit. This keeps it an abdominal exercise and not one that works the hip flexors like the old style sit-ups. Make sure with the air squats they sit back like they are sitting on a chair.Finish with a mile run. Students should have a qualifying time in order to pass. You can adjust the times by age to make it fair. Example; if a student is 13 or under they should be able to complete it in 27 minutes. If the student is 14-34 they must complete it in 25 minutes. Students 35-44 and up must be able to complete it in 27 minutes and 45 and up in 29 minutes. I completed this sequence a few minutes ago as a regular training workout and completed it in 21.5 minutes without killing myself. This will help you develop a baseline that you believe is fair. I would suggest that you do it yourself too so you can see how long it takes you. You should only ask your students to do what you can do yourself. All in all I think that everyone should be able to complete the “300” with a mile run at the end in 30 minutes or less. If they can’t do it they probably didn’t take their training seriously enough and should wait until the next cycle. Becoming a black belt IS a BIG DEAL!Hope this helps,Bill StormP.S. the best way to help candidates prepare is to start your students with physical conditioning early in their training. You can have beginner do 25 of each and a 1/4 mile run, intermediates can do 50 of each with a 1/2 mile run, advanced 75 of each and 3/4 mile run and candidates peak at 100 with a mile run. It’s all about setting them up for success but pushing them to stretch themselves.